Only a handful of heavyweights are left around the league, and, as they disappeared, so did potential dance-partners.

He was also a victim of his team’s success as Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley couldn’t justify putting a pure fighter into the lineup in the midst of a playoff race.

Fourth lines are now all about speed, tenacity and versatility, leaving Brian McGrattan a healthy scratch in Calgary 20 of the last 21 games.

And so, after plenty of teeth-gnashing, the Flames finally bit the bullet and put the 33-year-old winger up for grabs via a 24-hour waiver-wire process that concludes Saturday morning. Starting with the last-place Edmonton Oilers, every team gets a shot at claiming him before 10 a.m.

But quite likely the waiving of the league’s toughest hombre will mark the end of the era for pure fighters in Calgary, not to mention the NHL.

The fact everyone in the dressing room saw it coming didn’t make it any easier to swallow the fact Flames fans have seen the last of the fan-favourite known affectionately as Big Ern.

“This league has changed,” said Hartley, who just couldn’t justify playing McGrattan for five minutes a night now that he’s blessed with more depth.

“Brian McGrattan is a great guy. He’s been doing great things for us, on and off the ice. We felt like he hasn’t played in quite some time now. We talked on this in management quite a few times. Players want to play. No one is happy when they don’t play, but Grats has been a good pro for us. This is going to give him a chance, a little bit like Nashville did three years ago. Let’s give him a chance to play. If any other team picks him up, good for Grats. If no team picks him up, we’re going to find a way that he can play.”

It also allows Drew Shore to play.

Shore was acquired from the Florida Panthers by the Flames later Friday in exchange for Corban Knight. The Flames will eventually need McGrattan’s roster spot to make it possible for the 6-foot-3, 200-lb. right-handed centre to join the Flames soon.

It’s important to note Hartley omitted any talk of Adirondack.

As respected as McGrattan is by hockey president Brian Burke and GM Brad Treliving, they likely can’t justify eating up a youngster’s roster spot on the Flames’ development squad, meaning he could be playing in the East Coast Hockey League or perhaps even overseas if the Flames can find a team to loan him to.

Whether he’d take it, given his wife is expecting their first child, is up in the air.

“That’s part of hockey — I think that’s the toughest part,” said Sean Monahan, a close friend of McGrattan’s.

“Obviously, seeing good guys like that get put in those positions, it’s hard. But I think that’s the business of the game.”

There’s no more room for the best fighter in the league, which is a tough pill to swallow for fans of Brian McGrattan and fighting in general.

Last year, the 6-foot-4, 235-pounder had 11 fights and did well to protect a small, young Flames squad.

However, with the addition of Deryk Engelland and Brandon Bollig, the team’s toughness is controlled by players playing regular shifts.

McGrattan was scratched in 33 of 41 games this year and had only fought once in his last 38 outings dating back to almost a calendar year.

McGrattan recently noted how fortunate he felt to be in the NHL even if he wasn’t playing.

Proud to be a recovering alcoholic who recently celebrated six years of sobriety, McGrattan has spoken openly about one day helping others in the game fight the demons he’s battled.